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Trident vote demand is Theresa May’s bid to take advantage of Labour split

Theresa May said the UK faced threats from “conventional enemies”. Why, then, do we need a nuclear deterrent? [Image: AP.]

Theresa May is pushing for a vote on renewing Trident before Parliament goes into summer recess in a couple of week’s time – because she knows it would deepen the rift in the Parliamentary Labour Party.

The PLP was already split over Trident after Jeremy Corbyn said he wanted to give the membership more of a say in whether the UK should continue spending billions of pounds on the system.

One possible leadership contender (if he ever gets his act together), Owen Smith, threatened to quit his then-Shadow Cabinet role if Mr Corbyn went ahead with that plan.

Well, Smith has quit anyway but it will be interesting to see how he responds to this move by Mrs May.

Will the mutineers in the PLP jump like Pavlov’s Dog to the Tory whistle? Or will they grow a new backbone and realise they need to get behind their leader and show a united front?

One fears the answer may be depressing.

There should be a vote in the House of Commons on replacing Trident before the summer recess, Theresa May has said.

The home secretary and Tory leadership candidate told the Daily Mail it would be “sheer madness” to give up the UK’s nuclear deterrent because of the threat posed by countries including Russia.

Renewing Trident would show Britain was “committed” to working with Nato allies after voting for Brexit, she added.

Labour is split over Trident, with Jeremy Corbyn opposing its renewal.